4.4.» l .’ ' Parish, a Unitarian Universalist congregation, in Derby The 3Piritua1 .Essence by The Rev. Jame Dwiuell Pick a, Story, and Tell It Many of us are involved with social change work, either on a personal or a more global level. Social _ change work is hard work. It is emotional work. It is physical work. It is spiri- ,tual work. We all dream of a world where people are not oppressed — for their O gender identity, their sexual orientation, their race, religion, age or class. The oppressions go on and on, and all of us carry multiple oppressions. No one oppression is any better or more important ‘than another.‘ Oppression is oppre- sion, painful and hurtful to our innermost selves. One way to find some peace and healing from oppression is to have an oppor- tunity to tell our stories in a safe and loving atmosphere. Perhaps with a friend, or in your religious community, or with a mental health practitioner. We hold so many stories inside of us, and we want to be heard. _ So try this — find that trustedother who will listen, and begin. Be close to your trusted person so that you can touch and have eye contact as ' needed. Tell them a story about a time when you felt oppressed. It can be when the other third graders teased you for being fat. It can be when your aunt chas- tised you, her nephew, for playing with dolls. It can be when you, as a person of color, were trailed by guards in a shopping mall. It can be when a man approached you with Vicious words and a two by four . outside of a gay bar. The list is endless. Pick a story,~one storyof many, and tell it. * Oppression will never stop. Hopefully it will lessen. But it will only lessen if we can change people’s hearts. Ask your friend to listen without interruption. Let them know if it would be helpful if they held your hand. When you are done telling the story, have them briefly tell the story back to you. When they are done, look inside yourself — or » — have them ask you — is there someone, a character from the story, that you would like to speak to? Maybe those schoolmates, or aunt, of mall guards, or the threat- ening man. What would you like to say to this person? ' If your friend can handle it (check with them first), speak to them as you would have liked to speak to this person who oppressed you. O Don't be nice and polite. Don't try and convince them they were wrong. Yell atitheml Tell them how scared you were or how much their actions hurt you. Letit out. Let it out in a safe place. Then breathe a big sigh of relief and let it all go. One more oppressive act has been removed from your soul. T Doesn't it feel wonderful? V Oppression will never stop. Hopefully it will lessen. But it will only lessen if we can change people’s hearts. Intellectual arguments will never do the trick. We found out how true this is during the Civil Union debate. Legislators said over and over again that it was the personal stories that changed their minds and allowed them-to vote ”yes.” Think of when a personal story has changed your heart. Start finding times to tell.your stories, in safety and in trust. Freeing up the pain in our souls will help us change the world. Open up your heart, and tellyour story. And, as much as that, listen to‘ the stories of those around you. i They, too, have much in their souls worth listening to. Speak and listen. It's a powerful combination. The Rev. ]ane Dwinell serves the First Llniversalist Line, VT. She lives with her partner, Sky, and their two children, Dana and Sayer, on the shores of beautiful Lake Memphremagog. ’ K. . .3 The S'l'0\-l-"‘l1l0\\'\&\ Vbluvd-eevs oil “outs in The Moumi-aCms”l O Wu like {-0 wish you ma ‘/ow’: the Best Pour the Holidays cowl Peace "cowl Pvpospevit-y . in l-he coming ‘/eiowl Come join us x°ov hot cialevl ‘ onion Rivev Co-or support-s lOC0\l 3vow€VS... How to wavm up your l/\Oll&\0\)'$ . I ’ Wsit the Onion River Co-op during our 4th annual Trees for COTS fundraiser, December 8_, 15, and 22 from loam to 4pm —— or until supp|ies_run outl! Choose from our beautiful, fresh-cut balsam trees, grown for us by Peter Purinton of Huntington. The trees average 6-8 ft. in height and arepriced at only $25 each. (Come early for best selection!) _ Enjoy warm holiday feelings, because all proceeds will be donated to COTS. _ Your purchase will help provide emergency shelter, affordable hous- 5 '_/ lng, and social services to hundreds of people In our community. A!’ COLUMNS december 2001 OITM - 17 Theatre on a Shoestring S T presents Eiqhi: Reindeer b/lonoloques by Jeff Goode December 6-8 - 8PM The Shoebox Theatre 135 Pearl Street Burlington, VT LAST CHANCE TO PURCHASE , TICKETS!!! Adult tlwrnes and content. For mature, open-rnimlerl umlienccs only.’ . ...-«ii Tickets are $8 general admission and are availulilc by calling the l5l_\'r1i1'l‘hcati'c Regional Box Office at (802) 86-FLYNN or going onlinc at u ww.thcatrcshoc.com. \'/// ‘ ' 4 .n:wn.:xo INC _ Sim mo - Waking dreams come true since ’/(340 * ’ 78 CHURCH ST.. BURU-NGTON.VT'05401 , . ' PHONE 658-0333 , Elizabeth C. Campbell,CPA., PC Certified Public Accountants 15 East Washington Street, Rutland 05701 802-773-4030 / liz@rallyCPA.com Tax specialists serving individuals and small businesses . —--.1. 4 OV\lOV\ River Co-op 274 N. Winooski Avenue 802-863-3659 ’ Burlington, Vermont Open 9-9 every day.